• Question: do you evger struggle with your own mental health whilst helping others? (dont answer if it makes you uncomfortable)

    Asked by anon-305220 on 7 Dec 2021.
    • Photo: Danielle Paddock

      Danielle Paddock answered on 25 Nov 2021:

      It is a really good question! I think it is dependent on what you research. For me, I do struggle from time to time, and sometimes especially so after I’ve had an interview/focus group with young people where we talk about body image issues, social media and mental health. I always make sure that I schedule in some time after these moments to have some time for me – I might have a relaxing bath, I might read an upbeat book, listen to some music, go for a run, take my dog Peanut for a walk etc. – anything that makes me happy and feel better. Sometimes researching sensitive topics can take its toll on the researchers too so it’s important to take these breaks, and also to reach out and speak to people when/if you start to struggle.

    • Photo: Emily McDougal

      Emily McDougal answered on 25 Nov 2021:

      My research involves understanding how children think and learn in the classroom, particularly for neurodivergent children such as those with a diagnosis of ADHD or autism. My hope is that this work can improve school life for these groups of children, but research is a very long process and sometimes it takes a long time to see any direct impact. This can be difficult and indeed can impact my mental health in a negative way. However when I do see the positive effects of my research, it is incredibly rewarding and impacts my mental health in a positive way. For example, in my last project I was working with children with ADHD and their teachers to teach them about ADHD and give them strategies to use in the classroom. Seeing them use and benefit from these strategies was a wonderful experience and makes the research process worthwhile.

    • Photo: James Bartlett

      James Bartlett answered on 25 Nov 2021:

      I am firmly in the research side of psychology so I do not have any experience working in therapy. I have never had any diagnosable mental health problems but its important to outline mental health exists along a continuum. It goes all the way from positive and coping with your life to the problematic end where you need support. I have had my ups and downs tied to stress with work or my PhD but I have managed through it. This does not mean I will never experience mental health problems though, there could be different stressors where I do need help.

    • Photo: Madeleine Steeds

      Madeleine Steeds answered on 25 Nov 2021:

      While I work in the research side of things, because of my own mental health, I have to be careful the kind of work I do. I can’t do research focussing on depression for example because it tends to be too triggering. Luckily I work more with memory and cognition so it is easy to avoid.

    • Photo: Natali Bozhilova

      Natali Bozhilova answered on 25 Nov 2021:

      Yes.

      Sometimes it can be very difficult to hear about someone’s struggles. Although we can help them at that point in time, we are often limited in our ability to provide support. In that sense, I often struggle with the concept of signposting people to the relevant professionals/organisations without being able to provide immediate psychological treatment.

      Sometimes I also have challenging life events, which could make me more sensitive to certain type of information and create an extra challenge while working in a mental health setting.

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